Mr Allen George Quynn Jr

1920 - 2016

Allen George Quynn, Jr. passed away on June 24, 2016 at the age of 95. He was born on December 7, 1920 in Frederick, Maryland to Allen George Quynn and Rachel Motter Quynn. He grew up in Frederick, Annapolis, Washington, DC, and Hong Kong. He attended the Central British School in Hong Kong in 1936 and graduated from Frederick High School in 1938. He graduated from MIT in 1942 with a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

He was a First Lieutenant in the Army during World War II, stationed in Saipan where he oversaw the building of roads, bridges and hospitals. After the war, he worked at the Brooklyn Navy yard as an inspection engineer. From 1951-52, he hitchhiked in Europe, staying in youth hostels, working on a potato farm in Sweden and building antenna mirrors at an observatory in Goteborg, Sweden. Following his adventures abroad, he worked at Penn State University.

In 1955 he married Jean Marie Zimmerman and they moved to Bellevue, Washington. Mr. Quynn worked for Boeing as a research engineer where he developed several patents for the company. In 1967 he took his family to Europe where they bought a VW Micro Bus and toured Europe, later settling in Southampton for year while he attended the University of Southampton.

He is survived by his sister and three children: Serene Collmus of Frederick, MD, Rachel Knudson of Boyds, MD, Serena Quynn of Tukwilla, Washington and Allen Quynn of Davis, CA; six grandchildren: Eric, Marta and Isabel of Boyds, MD and Sophie, Lilly and Frances of Davis, CA; and a companion, Sheila Madfai, of Renton, WA.

Throughout his life he enjoyed skiing, hiking, sailing and playing tennis, the latter of which he did well into his 90's. He is remembered for his non-conformist and adventuresome spirit and his never-ending curiosity. A memorial service will be held in the spring of 2017.